1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic apparatus with a cooling structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic apparatus, such as a portable computer, is mounted with heating elements, e.g., a CPU, and is provided with a cooling structure for cooling the heating elements.
A cooling structure for cooling heating elements that are mounted on the obverse and reverse surfaces of a board is described in Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 3-113893. This cooling structure is provided with a plurality of cooling units that include radiators and fans, and the cooling units are attached to the heating elements, individually. Thus, cooling of the heating elements on the obverse and reverse surfaces of the board can be accelerated.
Described in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 3637304 is a cooling device that is provided with a heat sink, an auxiliary heat sink, and a cooling fan. The heat sink is in contact with a heating element on a circuit board. The auxiliary heat sink receives heat from the main heat sink. The cooling fan is used to cool the auxiliary heat sink. A case of the cooling fan includes an end face portion that protrudes from the circuit board on a side opposite to the side where the heat sink is situated. A part of the circuit board is situated between the end face portion and a heating element contact surface of the heat sink.
There is an increasing demand for thinner electronic apparatuses. On the other hand, heat release from components that are mounted in the electronic apparatuses is increasing year by year. Electronic apparatuses of the future are expected to be each mounted with a plurality of heating elements that require cooling. Since one such electronic apparatus may be provided with a large-sized cooling structure or a plurality of cooling structures for cooling the heating elements, it cannot readily meet the requirement for further thinness.
If the cooling units are attached individually to the heating elements that are mounted on the obverse and reverse surfaces of the board, as described in Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 3-113893, it is difficult to reduce the thickness of the electronic apparatus. While the cooling device described in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 3637304 has a structure suited for one heating element that is mounted on the circuit board, it never contributes to the thinning of the electronic apparatus that is mounted with a plurality of heating elements.